Withdrawal of 2018 southwest monsoon delayed; North India to see heavy rain

A new low pressure over the Bay of Bengal and a western disturbance are likely to further delay the withdrawal of the southwest monsoon this year and cause rainfall over north India over the weekend. The rains were supposed to retreat from September 1.

The revised forecast said the monsoon withdrawal would start from September 10-12. Now, it seems this will take longer.

“The withdrawal will not start this week,” India Meteorological Department (IMD) Director General K J Ramesh said.

The rains usually start withdrawing from early September from western Rajasthan. The process is usually complete by end-October, signaling the